7.1.1 States and all those engaged in fisheries management
should, through an appropriate policy, legal and institutional framework, adopt
measures for the long-term conservation and sustainable use of fisheries
resources. Conservation and management measures, whether at local, national,
subregional or regional levels, should be based on the best scientific evidence
available and be designed to ensure the long-term sustainability of fishery
resources at levels which promote the objective of their optimum utilization and
maintain their availability for present and future generations; short-term
considerations should not compromise these objectives.

See also 6.19

Conservation and management of inland fishery
resources: Current fishery management of inland waters concentrates on three
components of the environment/fish/fishery system:

Management of the fishery - regulation oriented activities concerning the
activities of the fishers and their social and economic context such as licensing,
control of mesh size, setting of closed seasons, control of markets, subsidies,
etc. Management policies here should be aimed at: a) limiting access to the
fishery so that excess effort is avoided; and b) limiting the use of destructive
and harmful fishing gears (see 7.2.2)

Management of the fish - control over the magnitude and size of the fish
population by stocking, introduction of new species and other enhancement
techniques as appropriate. Management here is aimed at establishing the most
cost-effective approaches for enhancement.

Management of the environment - this is pursued at two different levels:
a) negotiating and arranging for adequate environmental conditions of water
quality, quantity, timeliness of flow, habitat diversity etc.; and b) promoting
physical improvements to improve the support capacity for fish

It is evident that of these three process the conventional
management of the fishery is limited to the first of these categories.

Management of the fishery itself can be pursued in the
framework of sustainability either of the resource as a whole, as in the case
where a policy decision is taken to limit fishing severely in the interests of
conservation, aesthetics or recreation, or with reference to particular
components of the system. Decisions regarding this component of management
usually are political and have been made at relatively high level by centralized
fisheries agencies in the past. There is now an increasing tendency to involve
local peoples in such decisions through co-management or through assignment of
rights.

Management of the fish is usually pursued with the direct
objective of shaping the fishery to correspond more closely to the requirement
of a particular society at a particular time. It is a technical activity pursued
at the level of individual fisheries dependent on individual needs. It can only
take place, however, if a policy decision is taken to assign the rights to a
water body where this type of management is applied so that those investing in
the resource can reap the benefits of their investment.

Management of the environment is of two types: firstly
interventions which seek to minimize, mitigate or restore from damaging impacts
of other users. Here the decisions do not lie with the fishery managers but
rather with a larger set of decision makers who implicitly or explicitly
allocate the aquatic resource. Secondly, activities which seek to improve the
supporting capacity of the ecosystem for fish and which form a complement to
biologically-oriented systems of enhancement. Such activities do lie within the
purview of the fishery managers although frequently other interests should be
consulted before actions such a remeandering, re-creation of gravel bottoms or
vegetation control are undertaken.

7.1.2 Within areas under national jurisdiction, States
should seek to identify relevant domestic parties having a legitimate interest
in the use and management of fisheries resources and establish arrangements for
consulting them to gain their collaboration in achieving responsible
fisheries.

Parties to inland water management: As the resource is
of interest to a large number of players the consultation process should
encompass a large section of society. Which elements will be drawn into such
discussions will depend on the activities to be contemplated, the geographic
area and the social aspirations of the various user groups. Thus, in a tropical
river the major dialogue may be between the commercial fishers, the artisanal
fishers and those wishing to abstract water for irrigation. In a temperate lake
the discourse may be between recreational fishers, wildlife conservationists and
water-sport interest groups. The important thing here is that decision makers
should recognize those groups having a legitimate call on the aquatic resource
and seek to involve them in the consultation process. Where users groups (often
the fishers themselves) have no organized voice, mechanisms should be set up to
adequately reflect their views.

7.1.3 For transboundary fish stocks, straddling fish
stocks, highly migratory fish stocks and high seas fish stocks, where these are
exploited by two or more States, the States concerned, including the relevant
coastal States in the case of straddling and highly migratory stocks, should
co-operate to ensure effective conservation and management of the resources.
This should be achieved, where appropriate, through the establishment of a
bilateral, subregional or regional fisheries organization or
arrangement.

Riverine and diadromous migrants: In inland fisheries
the problems posed by the above categories of fish are also met with in the case
of the long distance, riverine and diadromous migrants. These species are among
the most valuable in a commercial sense but are among the first to disappear
when the environment is heavily impacted by dam building, pollution and
excessive fishing on the migratory phase. As such, in national and international
inland waters alike all measures should be taken to facilitate fish movement
past blocking structures such as dams and weirs, to avoid chemical barriers
through localised pollution and to prohibit excessive fishing at points where
the fish congregate and are especially vulnerable. Protection of migrant species
should be a major concern of river basin management authorities.

7.1.4 A subregional or regional fisheries management
organization or arrangement should include representatives of States in whose
jurisdictions the resources occur, as well as representatives from States which
have a real interest in the fisheries or the resources outside national
jurisdictions. Where a subregional or regional fisheries management organization
or arrangement exists and has the competence to establish conservation and
management measures, those States should cooperate by becoming a member of such
organization or a participant in such arrangement, and actively participate in
its work.

7.1.5 A State which is not a member of a subregional or
regional fisheries management organization or is not a participant in a
subregional or regional fisheries management arrangement should nevertheless
cooperate, in accordance with relevant international agreements and
international law, in the conservation and management of the relevant fisheries
resources by giving effect to any conservation and management measures adopted
by such organization or arrangement.

7.1.6 Representatives from relevant organizations, both
governmental and non-governmental, concerned with fisheries should be afforded
the opportunity to take part in meetings of subregional and regional fisheries
management organizations and arrangements as observers or otherwise, as
appropriate, in accordance with the procedures of the organization or
arrangement concerned. Such representatives should be given timely access to the
records and reports of such meetings, subject to the procedural rules on access
to them.

The role of river and lake basin authorities: The
articles 7.1.4 - 7.1.6 should be taken to apply equally to river and lake basin
authorities charged with the conservation and management of the resources of
such basins. Where the prime objectives of such authorities is other than
fisheries, for instance power generation, water allocation or navigation,
protection of living aquatic resources for biodiversity and fisheries should
explicitly be included in their remit. (See also section 10)

7.1.7 States should establish, within their respective
competencies and capacities, effective mechanisms for fisheries monitoring,
surveillance, control and enforcement to ensure compliance with their
conservation and management measures, as well as those adopted by subregional or
regional organizations or arrangements.

Monitoring, surveillance, control and enforcement: One
of the characteristics of inland aquatic systems is their dispersion in space
and time. Apart from a few major lakes and rivers, national territories usually
contain many thousands of kilometres of stream, many small water bodies, marshes
and swamps as well as areas such a rice fields which are used for rearing or
capture of fish. The dispersion of the resource is mirrored in an equal
diffusion of fishing areas and fish landings. This means that comprehensive
monitoring, surveillance, control and enforcementof all inland fisheries
within a national territory is frequently beyond the capacity of a State. The
most economical solution to this is to charge the fishers themselves with the
policing and record keeping functions of the fishery and to empower them through
legal and protected rights to the resource to carry out this function.

7.1.8 States should take measures to prevent or eliminate
excess fishing capacity and should ensure that levels of fishing effort are
commensurate with the sustainable use of fishery resources as a means of
ensuring the effectiveness of conservation and management
measures.

Control of effort: Apart for a few major fisheries on
large lakes and rivers, inland fisheries are generally pursued with many small
artisanal units rather than single large craft. In these cases, and because of
the diffuseness of the fishery and landings discussed above, it is difficult to
control access to the fishery directly. For many, fishing is a part-time
occupation and measures of effort are difficult to obtain. Furthermore, in
rivers and fluctuating lakes the yield to be expected from the fishery may vary
enormously from year-to-year. In this context absolutes are difficult to
establish and most traditional management systems have developed mechanisms to
deal with the variability and with the control of access. For this reason it is
advisable to establish co-management or local management systems that can better
deal with the local conditions. Where enhancement is adopted as a major approach
to development and management of the fishery, access should be more strictly
controlled and limited to those investing directly in the development of the
resource. This implies some fixing of exploitation rights that may cause local
inequities. Social and economic impacts of such decisions therefore should be
well studied before they are adopted.

7.1.9 States and subregional or regional fisheries
management organizations and arrangements should ensure transparency in the
mechanisms for fisheries management and in the related decision-making
process.

7.1.10 States and subregional or regional fisheries
management organizations and arrangements should give due publicity to
conservation and management measures and ensure that laws, regulations and other
legal rules governing their implementation are effectively disseminated. The
bases and purposes of such measures should be explained to users of the resource
in order to facilitate their application and thus gain increased support in the
implementation of such measures.

Articles 7.1.9 and 7.1.10 also apply to laws and regulations
from outside the fisheries sector which may influence the fishery.

7.2 Management objectives

7.2.1 Recognizing that long-term sustainable use of
fisheries resources is the overriding objective of conservation and management,
States and subregional or regional fisheries management organizations and
arrangements should, inter alia, adopt appropriate measures, based on the best
scientific evidence available, which are designed to maintain or restore stocks
at levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield, as qualified by
relevant environmental and economic factors, including the special requirements
of developing countries.

Sustainability and inland ecosystems: Most inland
aquatic ecosystems have already been substantially altered by the activities of
man. The long historical process of dam construction, draining of marginal
wetlands and straightening, deepening and encasing major channels has modified
the original pristine situation of most rivers on most continents. Lakes have
been less affected although eutrophication, acidification and siltation have
also substantially altered their character. Further changes have arisen from
species introductions. In some cases the success of introduced species resulted
from physical modifications of the system which selected against native species.
In other cases a mix of species suited to colonize new water bodies such as
reservoirs were introduced as native species were unable to adapt to the new
environments. Issues of sustainability in inland waters have, therefore, to be
viewed against a background of change which has affected most waters of the
world. This does not mean that sustainability is not achievable but it does mean
that the baseline has changed and that very often sustainability has to be
pursued against a background of new species and altered habitats. Strategies
should, therefore, be based on this assumption rather than on vain attempts to
restore a substantially altered ecological balance.

Measures for the conservation and sustainable management of
inland fisheries can only be effective if excessive fishing effort is avoided.
In order to control fishing capacity access must be controlled although
technological solutions through improved enhancement practices and more
environmentally friendly fishing gears can also be adopted.

Access to inland resources: Many different types of
access pattern exist in inland waters. These range from outright private
ownership in the case of small lakes and ponds, through communal ownership to
state ownership. In many cases the inland resource is thought of as open access
and fishing has often provided an occupation of last resort, especially for
landless peoples. In areas liable to periodic drought inland resources may also
treated as famine crops and the resource is heavily exploited until better food
supplies return. More frequently, however, access or fishing rights are
determined by traditional allocation of the resource among riverain peoples. In
some cases fishing rights are acquired through licenses issued by the state or
purchased from the owners either directly or through auction. In systems where
there is a stable system of exploitation rights assigned over long periods it is
in the interest of the fishers to manage the resource sustainably. However,
should the assigned period be too short, especially in fisheries where rights
are acquired by auction, there is a tendency for the operator to attempt to
recuperate his costs as quickly as possible by overly intensive fishing.
Consequently assignment of rights either directly or through mechanisms such as
auction should be for as long a period as possible.

c) the interests of fishers, including those engaged in
subsistence, small-scale and artisanal fisheries, are taken into
account;

Inland fisheries are essentially small-scale, subsistence or
artisanal in nature. It is not unusual for small-scale commercial, artisanal and
subsistence fisheries to co-exist in the same area although with some degree of
conflictuality. Major impacts on fishers usually derive from outside the
fisheries sector when large scale projects involving alternative uses of water
can alter the whole nature of the resource. Typical of this is the need to
displace communities and re-educate fishers when riverine fisheries are
converted to lacustrine ones following impoundment. The impacts on and needs of
fishers should be taken into account within the general impact assessments of
all such projects.

d) biodiversity of aquatic habitats and ecosystems is
conserved and endangered species are protected

e) depleted stocks are allowed to recover or, where
appropriate, are actively restored;

Conservation of biological diversity: The comments on
section 7.2.1. develop the theme that existing biological diversity in inland
waters has been eroded by a large number of species introductions, by stocking
programmes and by environmental changes induced by human activities. It is
therefore difficult to establish criteria for future conservation efforts. Apart
from a few directed attempts to rehabilitate rivers and lakes and restore
historically appropriate faunas most efforts at conservation have to concentrate
on maintaining the sustainability of vastly altered species assemblages in
modified aquatic ecosystems. In this case the responsibility of the fisheries
manager is to ensure that further degradation does not occur through additional
introductions of inappropriate species, that the genetic composition of stocked
fish is compatible with the native stocks and, above all, that the environment
is protected from further negative impacts.

Protection of endangered species and habitats:
conservation problems are not limited to endangered species but also to certain
types of wetland habitat. The options for species conservation are ex situ
whereby the threatened species are kept in aquaria or other suitable
localities with the eventual objective of reintroduction to the native water
when conditions permit. This strategy is particularly popular for smaller
ornamental species although many larger species are held in aquaculture
installations or have been introduced outside their original range for this
purpose. Ideally such options should not only be adopted for species but for
particularly valuable strains in order to maintain the genetic diversity of the
species. In situ conservation implies one of three strategies. Firstly
programmes of stocking the subject species into native waters where
self-reproducing stocks have failed for one reason or another. Secondly through
the establishment of reserves. In lakes areas may be set aside as protected
locations although such reserves will only serve as protection against fishing
or direct environmental interventions. They will not protect against diffuse
influences such a eutrophication or the introduction of a major predator. In
rivers the concept of a chain of beads pattern of reserves has been developed
whereby it is deemed ecologically sufficient to allow selected areas along the
river to retain their natural flood regime and floodplain morphology.
Unfortunately the cumulative effects of flood control and modification in the
system as a whole may place undue hydraulic stresses on such locations and
solutions to this have to be sought. The third strategy, the complete
rehabilitation of the system, is at present confined to smaller lakes and
rivers.

f) adverse environmental impacts on the resources from
human activities are assessed and, where appropriate, corrected;
and

Environmental impacts: Much of current concern with
inland waters revolves around various types of environmental damage. There are
strong trends to try to reverse the sometimes long standing adverse impacts in
more affluent temperate nations. However, the pressure to expand
negatively-impacting activities such as dam building, creation of navigation
channels, water abstraction for irrigation, and pollution by urban, agricultural
and industrial wastes is still prevalent in developing economies. Because the
short and medium-term economic benefits of such developments to the country are
seen to be far superior to the maintenance of the environment and the fishery
resources there is a strong temptation to give conservation of the aquatic
resource relatively low priority. This may be viewed as a subsidy to development
on the part of the environment. Experience has shown, however, that this debt
has to be repaid as many valuable, but so far uncosted, ecosystem services
disappear along with the health of the environment. States should therefore
endeavour to plan forward through impact assessments and investment in
mitigating measures as an integral part of development.

g) pollution, waste, discards, catch by lost or abandoned
gear, catch of non-target species, both fish and non-fish species, and impacts
on associated or dependent species are minimized, through measures including, to
the extent practicable, the development and use of selective, environmentally
safe and cost-effective fishing gear and techniques.

Damaging fishing methods: In multi-species fisheries
many fishing methods are judged by the fishers to be detrimental to the fishery
as a whole or to the fish stock. In traditional fishery management systems such
gears are usually banned for the whole or part of the year. With the breakdown
of traditional systems of fisheries management in many parts of the world the
use of such gear has remained unchecked and managers should seek to limit their
use as appropriate. Certain fishing methods are universally recognized as
constituting a menace to the fishery, for example fishing with explosives,
poisons or electric gear, and these should be banned in all inland waters
except, in certain circumstances for scientific research. Equally cross river
barrier traps set for migrating fish at their areas of maximum concentration
should never exceed two-thirds of the channel width to allow for a percentage of
escapees.

7.2.3 States should assess the impacts of environmental
factors on target stocks and species belonging to the same ecosystem or
associated with or dependent upon the target stocks, and assess the relationship
among the populations in the ecosystem.

See comments under 7.2.1.

7.3 Management framework and
procedures

7.3.1 To be effective, fisheries management should be
concerned with the whole stock unit over its entire area of distribution and
take into account previously agreed management measures established and applied
in the same region, all removals and the biological unity and other biological
characteristics of the stock. The best scientific evidence available should be
used to determine, inter alia, the area of distribution of the resource and the
area through which it migrates during its life cycle.

The nature of multi-species fisheries: Fish assemblages
in rivers and many lakes are highly complex. The number of species in a river or
lake is strongly correlated with its basin area. As fishing effort increases
characteristic and predictable changes occur in the fish assemblages which have
strong implications for sustainability and management. In general as effort
increases larger individuals and species disappear from the assemblage to be
replaced by smaller counterparts. This means a gradual drift downwards in mean
length of the target populations, towards shorter lived, faster growing species.
This is accompanied by an initial increase and later a decrease in the number of
species in the exploitable population although the number of fish actually
appearing in the catch will increase until a certain critical level is passed.
Standing stocks will decrease but total production will rise giving an increase
in the ratio of production to biomass. As a result, although individual species
in the assemblage may conform to standard surplus yield models, the overall
catch curve rises initially to reach a plateau which is sustained over a
considerable range of increasing effort. Eventually, when effort reaches
sufficiently high levels the assemblage may become sufficiently impoverished as
to become destabilized and collapse but more frequently economic factors limit
the rise in effort and prevent this level of overfishing. Very high effort
fisheries are usually the result of high population densities brought about by
local economic expansions. These in themselves tend to place pressure on the
resource through the pollution and environmental modification. Changes in fish
assemblages subject to such stresses parallel those produced by fishing and the
combined effects of fishing and environmental degradation may well be
synergistic.

There are several implications for management in this process.
Firstly, classical terms such as overfishing are difficult to apply. Individual
species may be overfished and disappear from the fishery but the assemblage as a
whole continues to produce at a high level, albeit of fish which may not have
the same value as those that have disappeared. In this context overfishing can
only be deemed to occur with reference to some defined value such as a
particular group of species, quality, size etc. Secondly, the fishery can absorb
increased amounts of effort, either as labour or as improved technology than
would be supported by a fishery concentrating on only the larger species in the
assemblage. These two factors mean that those responsible for managing the
fishery can select either explicitly or implicitly from a range of options
between aiming the fishery at only the most valuable larger species, through
maximizing yield but retaining a reasonable quality of product, or to maximizing
the employment (or distribution of the benefits of the fishery) by allowing the
effort to rise. In reality it is not uncommon to see fisheries managed for a
combination of these objectives.

7.3.2 In order to conserve and manage transboundary fish
stocks, straddling fish stocks, highly migratory fish stocks and high seas fish
stocks throughout their range, conservation and management measures established
for such stocks in accordance with the respective competences of relevant States
or, where appropriate, through subregional and regional fisheries management
organizations and arrangements, should be compatible. Compatibility should be
achieved in a manner consistent with the rights, competences and interests of
the States concerned.

See section 7.1.3.

7.3.3 Long-term management objectives should be translated
into management actions, formulated as a fishery management plan or other
management framework.

Allocation of the aquatic resource: States should
clearly formulate national plans for the use of water including allocation for
fisheries and for the protection of the aquatic environment. Within the
fisheries sector objectives should be individually set for major fisheries and
fisheries management strategies developed accordingly. Smaller rivers and lakes
may be grouped by regional objectives within the country. Decisions need to be
taken on use - normal capture or enhanced fisheries. Target species - fisheries
concentrating only on larger species, or maximum production of larger numbers of
smaller species. Allocation - recreational fisheries, fisheries reserved for
native peoples, open access or restricted access for commercial purposes.
Etc.

7.3.4 States and, where appropriate, subregional or
regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements should foster and
promote international co-operation and co-ordination in all matters related to
fisheries, including information gathering and exchange, fisheries research,
management and development.

Basin management for shared basins: See sections 7.1.4
- 7.1.6

7.3.5 States seeking to take any action through a
non-fishery organization which may affect the conservation and management
measures taken by a competent subregional or regional fisheries management
organization or arrangement should consult with the latter, in advance to the
extent practicable, and take its views into account.

Multi-purpose management: As a multiple resource system
with a heavy economic bias to non-fishery uses of the aquatic system most
management decisions regarding the development of the basin are taken by
organizations outside the fisheries sector. This means that the fishery is
called on to manage its resource under the constraints imposed by others. This
clearly calls for full consultation with other users in an attempt to negotiate
optimum conditions for fisheries interests. Increasingly, however, external
constraints are not only imposed by economic interests but by conservationist
and cultural groupings including animal rights and environmentalist groups. Very
often the agenda of these groups contrasts with that of fisheries but on
occasions their interests may coincide when there is a powerful need for
conservation in the face of abuse of the environment. In such circumstances
alliances should be sought with other groupings of parallel interest to form a
stronger bargaining position. The concept of integrated aquatic resource
management has been developed in an attempt to provide a set of tools for
interested parties to jointly plan the allocation and responsibility for the
management of all resources in a basin. This requires that appropriate which are
competent and mandated to represent these interests groupings exist. In many
countries such groupings either do not exist or the official recognition that
would enable them to effectively participate in such discussions. States should
endeavour to encourage the development of representative user groups for this
purpose.

7.4 Data gathering and management
advice

7.4.1 When considering the adoption of conservation and
management measures, the best scientific evidence available should be taken into
account in order to evaluate the current state of the fishery resources and the
possible impact of the proposed measures on the resources.

Impact assessment: Systematic impact assessments should
be made of all projects including proposals for change of land use,
deforestation etc. which have the potential to alter the aquatic ecosystem and
the fisheries that depend on it. Such assessments should equally be made of
proposals for mitigation or rehabilitation projects. Impact assessments should
then be taken into account when planning the overall allocation of the aquatic
system between fisheries and other users. The fact that the cumulative effects
of many small projects may equal or exceed that of one big one should be taken
into account in considering impacts.

7.4.2 Research in support of fishery conservation and
management should be promoted, including research on the resources and on the
effects of climatic, environmental and socio-economic factors. The results of
such research should be disseminated to interested parties.

Research: The difficulties of researching inland waters
because of their diffuse and discrete nature have already been commented on in
section 6.4. At the level of species and ecosystems knowledge on inland water
resources is variable and patchy. Some systems, such as temperate salmonid
streams, are well understood whereas in others, such as large tropical rivers
the taxonomy, biology and ecology of the numerous species is very incomplete.
Black box models which require only limited knowledge of the individual species
involved have been used widely in fisheries management and these function well
within the very general limits of their application. More detailed planning for
the conservation of individual species, the rehabilitation of rivers for
specific faunas or the consideration of proposals for species introductions
requires more complete knowledge of the species involved. Equally, evaluation of
impacts of activities such as dam construction, water abstraction,
channelization etc. presupposes knowledge of specific aspects of the biology of
the fish likely to be affected including migration patterns, breeding behaviour,
feeding requirements, instream flow needs etc. Research requirements are not
limited to the biological disciplines as. On the whole, the social and economic
dimensions of the sector are equally poorly understood. Here more information is
needed on user group performance, behaviour, interactions and allocation of
benefits.

7.4.3 Studies should be promoted which provide an
understanding of the costs, benefits and effects of alternative management
options designed to rationalise fishing, in particular, options relating to
excess fishing capacity and excessive levels of fishing effort.

Economics of inland fisheries: The economics of inland
fisheries operations are generally poorly understood. The diversity within an
individual fishery, the strong seasonality, the year-to-year variation of many
fisheries, the fact that many fishers are part time moving between fishing and
other activities, and the complexity of the diffuse marketing structures through
which most inland catches are passed on to the consumer all complicate such
studies. More information is needed so that more appropriate management policies
be formulated with due consideration being given to allocation and
distributional aspects. Two sectors in particular are attracting interest in
this respect, the cost effectiveness of enhanced fisheries and the economics of
recreational fishing.

The cost effectiveness of enhancements: Activities to
improve fisheries have a long history and stocking in particular has become a
universal management tool. These practises have, however, usually been adopted
uncritically with little attempt to determine their economic effectiveness.
Enhancement has now reached a level where increasing adoption of techniques such
as stocking, and the increased privatization of such fisheries means that
margins for waste are considerably reduced. States and other agencies involved
in fisheries management should carefully evaluate the practices to reduce waste
and improve their cost-effectiveness with a view to ensuring their financial
sustainability.

Valuation of recreational fishery: Recreational
fisheries present a special case within the set of fisheries in that
practitioners do not rely on the activity for their livelihood and that many of
the terms in calculating their value lie outside the fishery itself.
Recreational fishers are usually prepared to spend considerable sums of money on
their sport not only in licenses for access to the fishery but for gear,
transport and accommodation. Groups of resource owners, professional assistants,
boat owners, etc. may, depend on the recreational fishery for their livelyhood
and the recreational fishery may thus contribute significantly to local
economies through its employment potential. In this way the product of the
fishery in terms of fish is only of small significance and other aspects of the
fishery such as aesthetic enjoyment and local economics become more important.
There are several methods to assess the economic value of goods and services
supplied by nature in the absence of a market. Whereas a market, and thus price,
usually exists for food fish, the recreational value of the fishery resource may
need to be assessed through non-market valuation techniques which indirectly or
directly attempt to measure the users willingness-to-pay. For example,
based on expenditures and travel behaviour (travel-cost valuation method), it
has often been found that the willingness-to-pay for the fishery resource by
recreational fishers is higher by an order of magnitude than its value based on
the market price of food fish. Production cost estimates may also be of value in
that the cost of material for stocking may often exceed that which can be
economically supported by a food fishery. These comparisons, however, are not
without problems, especially in many developing countries where on the one hand,
the market price of food fish may only inaccurately reflect real food fish
demand because many consumers may be unable to indicate their willingness-to-pay
in the market due to poverty and, on the other, where a greatly unequal income
distribution inflates the expenditures which some sections of the
society can incur for recreational purposes. Whatever the context, however,
recreational fisheries, where they become established, tend to drive out purely
food fisheries because of their apparent greater value and the greater political
influence of the recreational fishery lobby.

7.4.4 States should ensure that timely, complete and
reliable statistics on catch and fishing effort are collected and maintained in
accordance with applicable international standards and practices and in
sufficient detail to allow sound statistical analysis. Such data should be
updated regularly and verified through an appropriate system. States should
compile and disseminate such data in a manner consistent with any applicable
confidentiality requirements.

Inland fisheries statistics: The number and dispersion
of lakes, reservoirs and rivers within the territory of any nation is such that
it is difficult to set up adequate sampling systems to cover the whole of the
resource, nor is it generally economic to establish expensive sampling stations
on numerous small water bodies which have little individual production. Two
major solutions to this have been adopted. Firstly to have official concern only
for the most significant landing sites on the largest rivers and lakes. This
technique tends to ignore a substantial part of the national resource because,
although the individual yields from small rivers and lakes may be insignificant
the cumulative contribution to national catches may be high. Secondly, to base
statistical collection on a weighted sampling frame which aims at being
representative for the country as a whole and thirdly, to increasingly rely on
fishermans groups to participate in the collection and reporting of
fishery data.

Essential components of statistical analysis: the
temptation to be overly comprehensive in data collection should be avoided and
certain basic parameters should be selected as the basis for statistical
programmes. These may vary according to the type of fishery. For instance, in a
simple capture fishery data on effort, catch, length analysis and species
composition should be enough to characterise the fishery. In enhanced fisheries
more detailed information on input and rates of return will be needed. The
measures for recreational fisheries may differ depending on whether the catch is
consumed, removed or returned. They should also include such factors as angler
satisfaction which do not figure in the more general statistics. In any case
recreational fishers as a whole are more willing to collaborate in gathering
information which may improve their sport and the obligation to report is often
included in the license.

7.4.5 In order to ensure sustainable management of
fisheries and to enable social and economic objectives to be achieved,
sufficient knowledge of social, economic and institutional factors should be
developed through data gathering, analysis and research.

Studies on the social component of the fishery: See
also remarks under section 7.4.3. Remarks on the knowledge of the economics of
inland fisheries also apply to social issues as the two factors are usually
highly related. In the past many fisheries were regulated by tradition through
established hierarchies of responsibility. Many such systems disappeared or
became degraded because traditional rights remained unprotected and uncodified.
As a consequence, the entry of new commercial and recreational users created
quasi open access which impaired the benefits which the traditional artisanal
fishers would normally have obtained from their fishery. Knowledge of the
functioning of such systems is important as attempts to re-establish
co-management systems rely to a large measure on re-establishing similar
mechanisms. Of particular importance in social studies are the mechanisms
whereby societies adapt to shifts in management strategy within multi-gear
multi-community fisheries, to changes in overall use patterns particularly the
conversion of rivers to reservoirs following damming, to changes in ownership
and access patterns within fishery enhancement programmes etc.

7.4.6 States should compile fishery-related and other
supporting scientific data relating to fish stocks covered by subregional or
regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements in an
internationally agreed format and provide them in a timely manner to the
organization or arrangement. In cases of stocks which occur in the jurisdiction
of more than one State and for which there is no such organization or
arrangement, the States concerned should agree on a mechanism for co-operation
to compile and exchange such data.

7.4.7 Subregional or regional fisheries management
organizations or arrangements should compile data and make them available, in a
manner consistent with any applicable confidentiality requirements, in a timely
manner and in an agreed format to all members of these organizations and other
interested parties in accordance with agreed procedures.

Regional fishery statistics: While most inland rivers
and lakes lie within the confines of one state many major lakes and rivers are
international in that their waters lie within more than one national territory.
Collection of statistics and data has normally been regarded a national concern
except in a few international water bodies where a competent basin authority
exists. Problems of consistency of reporting and interpretation have therefore
become a problem. The need for more unified approaches to inland fisheries
conservation and management, especially in international rivers and lakes has
given rise to a degree of synthesis which has formulated general principles of
system function but the application of these principles to individual systems
remains to be generalized. Added to this, there is at present no separate
reporting of inland production in the national statistics of many countries
which means that it difficult to estimate the global or regional contribution of
fish from natural inland systems to global fish production, to analyse the
contribution of different production systems to the production and to detect
trends in resource use. The improvement of collection and reporting of inland
catch statistics and related information and the harmonization of methods for
doing so is therefore high priority in many areas.

7.5 Precautionary approach

7.5.1 States should apply the precautionary approach widely
to conservation, management and exploitation of living aquatic resources in
order to protect them and preserve the aquatic environment. The absence of
adequate scientific information should not be used as a reason for postponing or
failing to take conservation and management measures.

Application of the precautionary approach: While the
precautionary approach should be applied to fisheries development especially
when contemplating the introduction of enhanced management systems there is an
equal need to apply the approach to non-fisheries sectors whose capacity to
damage the ecosystem is usually much greater than that of the fisheries
themselves. The approach should also be applied within the socio-economic frame
seeking to avoid introduction of new or exaggerate existing social inequities. A
typical example of the precautionary approach is that advocated by the Framework
for the responsible Use of Introduced Species (FAO Fisheries Report 541 suppl.,
1997) (see also 3. P.16 of FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries 5
- Aquaculture Development)

7.5.2 In implementing the precautionary approach, States
should take into account, inter alia, uncertainties relating to the size and
productivity of the stocks, reference points, stock condition in relation to
such reference points, levels and distribution of fishing mortality and the
impact of fishing activities, including discards, on non-target and associated
or dependent species, as well as environmental and socio-economic
conditions.

7.5.3 States and subregional or regional fisheries
management organizations and arrangements should, on the basis of the best
scientific evidence available, inter alia, determine:

a) stock specific target reference points, and,
at the same time, the action to be taken if they are exceeded; and

b) stock-specific limit reference points, and, at the same
time, the action to be taken if they are exceeded; when a limit reference point
is approached, measures should be taken to ensure that it will not be
exceeded.

Reference points in inland fisheries: The
multi-specific nature of many inland fisheries implies the use of reference
points derived from some emergent parameter of the fish assemblage in
combination with the management criteria selected for that particular assemblage
(See article 7.3.1). Within multi-species assemblages such reference points may
be the age structure of the catch, the mean length of the fish caught, the
relative composition of trophic types, or the presence or absence of key
species. At present there is insufficient information to establish such
reference points for most systems at any but the most generalized level nor is
there much information on the resilience of such fisheries when subject to
significant changes in species composition induced by excess effort. It is known
that fish populations in fluctuating river systems are very resilient and able
to sustain considerable stress from fishing and climatic variations but such
resilience should not be assumed for all systems.

7.5.4 In the case of new or exploratory fisheries, States
should adopt as soon as possible cautious conservation and management measures,
including, inter alia, catch limits and effort limits. Such measures should
remain in force until there are sufficient data to allow assessment of the
impact of the fisheries on the long-term sustainability of the stocks, whereupon
conservation and management measures based on that assessment should be
implemented. The latter measures should, if appropriate, allow for the gradual
development of the fisheries.

The provision of the approach is particularly applicable to
development of enhanced fisheries where permanent changes can be produced in the
target system both ecologically and socio-economically. Widespread introduction
of enhancement techniques should be preceded by a pilot phase in a
self-contained water body.

7.5.5 If a natural phenomenon has a significant adverse
impact on the status of living aquatic resources, States should adopt
conservation and management measures on an emergency basis to ensure that
fishing activity does not exacerbate such adverse impact. States should also
adopt such measures on an emergency basis where fishing activity presents a
serious threat to the sustainability of such resources. Measures taken on an
emergency basis should be temporary and should be based on the best scientific
evidence available.

Influence of natural climatic variability: Inland
fisheries are particularly susceptible to natural climatic variations. Large
rivers, many lakes and swamps all respond to intra- and inter-annual variation
in rainfall. Normally the fish species and assemblages inhabiting such systems
have evolved mechanisms to deal with these fluctuation and the greater stress
for such systems often arises when the variability is suppressed. However,
despite the natural resilience the addition of further stresses at critical
times such as during severe droughts may exceed the capacity of certain species
or communities to resist and emergency limitations on access, certain types of
gear or certain seasons may be contemplated at such times.

7.6 Management measures

7.6.1 States should ensure that the level of fishing
permitted is commensurate with the state of fisheries resources.

See articles 7.3.1

7.6.2 States should adopt measures to ensure that no vessel
be allowed to fish unless so authorized, in a manner consistent with
international law for the high seas or in conformity with national legislation
within areas of national jurisdiction.

7.6.3 Where excess fishing capacity exists, mechanisms
should be established to reduce capacity to levels commensurate with the
sustainable use of fisheries resources so as to ensure that fishers operate
under economic conditions that promote responsible fisheries. Such mechanisms
should include monitoring the capacity of fishing fleets.

The basic fishing unit: The major fishing unit in
inland waters centres around the fishers who is the licence holder in most
fisheries and who is assigned rights either by Government or by acquisition
through auction in others. Except in a few major fisheries, such as the Amazon,
fishing vessels are small and fishing is often carried out from structures other
than boats such as the shore, barrier traps or fixed rafts. Control of effort in
inland fisheries is best achieved through the establishment of clear access
rights among inland water fishers and fishing communities and the setting up of
appropriate mechanisms for ensuring that such access is respected.

7.6.4 The performance of all existing fishing gear, methods
and practices should be examined and measures taken to ensure that fishing gear,
methods and practices which are not consistent with responsible fishing are
phased out and replaced with more acceptable alternatives. In this process,
particular attention should be given to the impact of such measures on fishing
communities, including their ability to exploit the resource.

Value of multi-gear fisheries: Inland fisheries,
especially in rivers and swamps, generally use a wide range of gear (see article
6.6) which enables the fishery as a whole to respond to changing conditions
throughout the yearly cycle. Different types of gear are associated with
different sections of the fishing community and many inland fisheries consist of
complex associations of sub-fisheries. In this respect efforts have to be made
to rationalize the use of gear by banning the most damaging - (see article 7.2.2
section (g)) - while at the same time conserving social equity. Particular
attention should be paid to specialist fisheries which have a potential to
damage resources, such as the fisheries for fry for stocking or those for small
ornamental species.

7.6.5 States and fisheries management organizations and
arrangements should regulate fishing in such a way as to avoid the risk of
conflict among fishers using different vessels, gear and fishing
methods.

Conflicts between recreational and food fisheries:
Substantial conflicts exist between various objectives for managing of inland
fisheries. A major difference in resource allocation is between recreational and
food fisheries. Because the recreational fishery is generally worth more than
the food fishery and because of the lack of secure rights on the part of the
food fishers there is a tendency for recreational interests to drive out
artisanal and even subsistence fisheries even in countries with food deficits.
This phenomenon used to be confined to the affluent temperate regions but is
increasing even in less affluent tropical regions.

Conflicts within food fisheries: Fisheries in inland
waters are technically and socially complex. The wide variety of gears current
in rivers and in many lakes have been developed to catch a wide variety of
species and life stages and to be used in different localities and seasons.
These various types of gear are usually confined to distinct groups of fishers
with the most affluent using the most effective, costly and sophisticated, such
as large barrier traps, beach seines or brush parks. Poorer fishers are usually
confined to simpler gears such as dip nets, hooks and simple traps. The various
categories of fishers may be organized into a harmonious social hierarchy but in
other areas they are in direct competition. Care has to be taken in defining
fishing policies so that social equity is maintained and that the poorer fishers
are not victimized by gear restrictions.

7.6.6 When deciding on the use, conservation and management
of fisheries resources, due recognition should be given, as appropriate, in
accordance with national laws and regulations, to the traditional practices,
needs and interests of indigenous people and local fishing communities which are
highly dependent on fishery resources for their livelihood

Role of indigenous peoples in inland fisheries: Fishing
is one of the major activities of local peoples in many areas of the world and
has been retained in many areas through long standing traditions. In other areas
where indigenous peoples are in reserves they hold the sole rights of access to
the fishery. In other areas, particularly where impacts of major dams have
eliminated runs of anadromous species, stocking and rehabilitation have been
programmed to provide for continuity of the resource.

7.6.7. In the evaluation of alternative conservation and
management measures, their cost-effectiveness and social impact should be
considered.

7.6.8 The efficacy of conservation and management measures
and their possible interactions should be kept under continuous review. Such
measures should, as appropriate, be revised or abolished in the light of new
information.

7.6.9 States should take appropriate measures to minimize
waste, discards, catch by lost or abandoned gear, catch of non-target species,
both fish and non-fish species, and negative impacts on associated or dependent
species, in particular endangered species. Where appropriate, such measures may
include technical measures related to fish size, mesh size or gear, discards,
closed seasons and areas and zones reserved for selected fisheries, particularly
artisanal fisheries. Such measures should be applied, where appropriate, to
protect juveniles and spawners. States and subregional or regional fisheries
management organizations and arrangements should promote, to the extent
practicable, the development and use of selective, environmentally safe and cost
effective gear and techniques.

7.6.10 States and subregional and regional fisheries
management organizations and arrangements, in the framework of their respective
competences, should introduce measures for depleted resources and those
resources threatened with depletion that facilitate the sustained recovery of
such stocks. They should make every effort to ensure that resources and habitats
critical to the well-being of such resources which have been adversely affected
by fishing or other human activities are restored.

Mitigation: Where there are impacts by a non-fishery
user which will continue mitigation can only be within the constraints imposed
by that use. Repeated inputs are usually to work against the destructive trend
of the imposed use. As such, mitigation is of itself rarely sustainable but may
contribute to the sustainability of the stock as a whole. Stocks of individual
species or groups of species which are either endangered by environmental change
or are overfished can be maintained by:

i) attempting to rectify the element in the
environment that is limiting such as lack of spawning substrate, interruption of
migratory pathways or lack of critical flows;

Alternatively, other species may be introduced to the system
which are more suited to the altered conditions as in reservoirs in basins where
no suitable lacustrine elements exist in the native fauna.

Rehabilitation: Where pressures from other users are
eased there may be a possibility to restore natural or quasi-natural features to
the river. In contrast to the sustained inputs generally required for
mitigation, rehabilitation requires a one off investment after which natural
processes should maintain the system. Of course in most rivers regulation and
modification will persist elsewhere in the system and thus fully natural regimes
will not re-establish. This is particularly true of erosion-deposition processes
and it may always be necessary to intervene with such operations as dredging to
dispose of material which the modified flow regimes cannot handle.
Rehabilitation aims mainly to restore the system to as near pristine conditions
as possible through -

Channels of rivers have tended to be straightened and revetted
in the interests of stable navigation and for the most rapid downstream
transport of water. Such regulated environments lose species diversity and
overall productivity as well as being aesthetically unappealing. Several steps
are available for channel restoration for fish:

improvement of in-channel diversity through installation of boulders, low
weirs and deflectors;

improvement of streamside cover though use of vegetation or artificial
structures;

reduction of slope of levees or confining embankments;

reinstatement of pool-riffle sequences in low order streams;

construction of shallow bays connected to main channel;

set back levees to create multi-stage channels;

remeander stream within confines of setback;

creation of point bars, islands and gravel banks.

Each of these successive steps is aimed at increasing the
diversity of the main channel. This produces a corresponding diversification of
the fish as a greater range of shelter, breeding and feeding habitats become
available for the different species and life stages. Apart from their value to
fish a number of other environmental services are provided by rehabilitation of
this type. It has been shown, for example, that the leakage of nutrients from
agricultural activities in the catchment can be substantially reduced by the
presence of a vegetated buffer strip along the riparian zone.

Restoration of longitudinal
connectivity

One of the major problems with river regulation is the ease
with which longitudinal migratory patterns can be disrupted. Even relatively low
dams and weirs will form insurmountable barriers to non-salmonid species. The
interruption of migratory pathways clearly impacts most severely on obligate
migrants which have to move upstream or downstream to breed. It can also affect
the stock structure of more static populations where genetic mixing is no longer
possible and local stocks diminished by overfishing or disease can no longer be
replenished from elsewhere in the system.

The most obvious method to improve fish passage over obstacles
such as weirs and dams is to remove the structure. However this usually leaves a
head of water to be dissipated which is often excessive for fish passage.
Furthermore the high flows involved with large differences in water level
accelerate erosion and affect lateral land through lowering of the water level.
Four main approaches are adopted to allow fish to pass obstructions while at the
same time avoiding these problems by lengthening the channel through which the
head is dissipated. These are:

fish slopes and rock ramps;

pool and Denil type fishways;

bypass channels and biocanals;

fishlifts and locks.

Restoration of lateral connectivity

Separation of lateral floodplains from the main channel may
occur through deliberate construction of bunds or levees for channel training
for navigation, and land reclamation for agricultural or urban development.
Isolation of the floodplain can also occur incidentally when flood pulses are
diminished by dams constructed upstream and when the channel be is eroded in
response to lessened silt loads. Restoration, particularly of limnophilic and
phytophylic species in the river depends on the reconnection of the floodplain
to the channel. Floodplain restoration projects of this type are relatively
uncommon due to their extensive nature and to the costs involved. Essentially,
however, most proposals call for the destruction of artificial river training
structures such as levees. The full original extent of flooding can rarely be
reintroduced particularly in very flat floodplains and here replacement levees
will be required set back sufficiently far from the channel as to allow adequate
flooding. Other approaches include the installation of submerged weirs across
eroded channels, flood retention structures across the floodplain to divert
water into abandoned channels and lagoons, and the incorporation of new features
such as gravel pits into the system.

7.7 Implementation

7.7.1 States should ensure that an effective legal and
administrative framework at the local and national level, as appropriate, is
established for fisheries resource conservation and fisheries
management.

7.7.2 States should ensure that laws and regulations
provide for sanctions applicable in respect of violations which are adequate in
severity to be effective, including sanctions which allow for the refusal,
withdrawal or suspension of authorizations to fish in the event of
non-compliance with conservation and management measures in force.

Whilst it is important to institute sanctions within the
fishery sector to ensure adherence to agreed policies and agreements, the major
impacts on the inland resource arise, as we have seen, from outside the
fisheries sector. Because of this it is important that systems of sanctions
exist that are of sufficient weight to ensure compliance of polluting and
impacting users throughout the basin as a whole.

7.7.3 States, in conformity with their national laws,
should implement effective fisheries monitoring, control, surveillance and law
enforcement measures including, where appropriate, observer programmes,
inspection schemes and vessel monitoring systems. Such measures should be
promoted and, where appropriate, implemented by subregional or regional
fisheries management organizations and arrangements in accordance with
procedures agreed by such organizations or arrangements.

7.7.4 States and subregional or regional fisheries
management organizations and arrangements, as appropriate, should agree on the
means by which the activities of such organizations and arrangements will be
financed, bearing in mind, inter alia, the relative benefits derived from the
fishery and the differing capacities of countries to provide financial and other
contributions. Where appropriate, and when possible, such organizations and
arrangements should aim to recover the costs of fisheries conservation,
management and research.

Support to river basin organizations: The provision of
funding to river basin authorities to enable them to pursue a fisheries agenda
is particularly important. Many of the other activities can be sufficiently
financed by the comparatively rich sectors they represent whereas fisheries is
insufficiently funded to ensure adequate representation. Because of this many
attempts to incorporate fisheries into river basin commissions have
failed.

7.7.5 States which are members of or participants in
subregional or regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements
should implement internationally agreed measures adopted in the framework of
such organizations or arrangements and consistent with international law to
deter the activities of vessels flying the flag of non-members or
non-participants which engage in activities which undermine the effectiveness of
conservation and management measures established by such organizations or
arrangements.

7.8 Financial institutions

7.8.1 Without prejudice to relevant international
agreements, States should encourage banks and financial institutions not to
require, as a condition of a loan or mortgage, fishing vessels or fishing
support vessels to be flagged in a jurisdiction other than that of the State of
beneficial ownership where such a requirement would have the effect of
increasing the likelihood of non-compliance with international conservation and
management measures.

Financing for inland fisheries: Inland fishers have
often limited or no access to the formal credit market (banks) because of their
lack of assets acceptable as collateral, and the small-scale and often
remoteness of their operations. In these circumstances, they often need to rely
exclusively on the financial services of middlemen who may face limited
competition and can charge high interest rates. Governments should consider
improving the access of inland fishers to the formal credit market through, for
example, micro-credit schemes in line with the Grameen Bank concept of
Bangladesh.

Funding other users of the aquatic resource: Funding
may also be desirable to extend financial incentives for ecologically friendly
behaviour by industry, agriculture, and other sectors in their use of inland
aquatic resources. Subsidies for investment in waste treatment plants, fish
ladders, etc. may be justified in certain situations where the strict
application of the polluter-pays principle is impractical or, as may be the case
in poor countries, may undermine the industrys competitiveness.